1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the structure and functions of vehicles for conveyance of people and goods, for towing of cars for conveyance of such objects, and for other special purposes. More particularly, the present invention relates to the structure and functions of side and back mirrors mounted on a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term “vehicle” used in this specification refers to an electric train, a motor vehicle (e.g. car), or the like. Popularization of vehicles typified by motor vehicles is progressing because of their convenience.
A vehicle is provided with a side mirror (door mirror) and a back mirror (room mirror), which are used by a driver to confirm safety at the time of lane change, for example.
In this specification, “side mirror (door mirror)” refers to a mirror mounted on each side of the body of a vehicle to provide a driver with a rear view, and “back mirror (room mirror)” refers to a mirror which is mounted in or adjacent to a space containing the driver's seat to provide a driver with a rear view, and which is called a rearview mirror.
When a driver driving a vehicle on a road makes a lane change, it is difficult for the driver to perform necessary visual safety confirmation since the driver is in the forward-facing driving position. It is also difficult for the driver to visually perform safety confirmation when backing the vehicle into a carport since a place at the rear of the vehicle is in the driver's blind spot. In such situations, the driver drives the vehicle by relying on information obtained from scenes reflected by the side and back mirrors. However, the field of view (visible area) through each of the side and back mirrors is not sufficiently wide.
Under the above-described circumstances, the present invention aims to widen the fields of view through side and back mirrors.
It is important that a driver driving a vehicle on a road should recognize the distance to another vehicle in any direction to avoid an accident. However, drivers usually speed excessively when driving in the night. Further, drivers tend to speed excessively after moving from a highway to an ordinary road because of the influence of a sensation of high speed in driving on the highway. Traffic accidents occur frequently in such situations, because drivers do not always correctly recognize the vehicle speed and the distance to another vehicle in any direction.
Therefore, it is desirable that a driver who drives a vehicle and a fellow passenger be able to obtain necessary information such as the distance to another vehicle at any time.